The Four Main Types of Forex Trading Strategies and Systems

There are so many options and possibilities when it comes to Forex trading. It can be difficult to decide which approach to take; some beginners get stuck right at the start and don’t know what kind of profits they are actually looking to make. Mechanical rule-based systems, robots and software, discretionary strategies and price action strategies can all be used to make a lot of money in the Forex market; they are the four main types of Forex trading strategies and systems.

Mechanical rule-based Forex trading systems are of course rule-based and usually involve the use of one or more technical indicators. Designers of these types of Forex trading systems will set specific entry and exit rules; these rules will usually be based off of formations/signals, produced by one or more technical indicators.

Mechanical rule-based Forex trading systems can work very well; if a good system is devised, it can be used again and again to make more and more profits. However, these sorts of systems aren’t very adaptable; the market for currencies is always changing and a mechanical, rule-based trading system isn’t very versatile, especially if the rules laid out are rigid. Also, because these types of trading systems usually involve the use of at least one technical indicator, they can prove to be very confusing and difficult to work with. Beginners particularly tend to struggle with them.

Forex trading robots and software are growing in popularity every day. There are so many trading robots and software available on the internet today. The majority of these on the internet, claim that profits can be made on autopilot, automatically with little work or intervention needed. However, these claims are generally false. While some Forex trading robots and software work well, many don’t. You do need to be careful when using these, especially when using ones that place orders for you automatically without asking for your permission, as they can cause you to deduce losses on autopilot rather than profits. Forex trading robots and software and generally only suitable for experienced Forex traders who are also capable of programming their own custom robots and software.

Discretionary Forex trading strategies are very popular. Most of them revolve around classic technical analysis techniques, such as the use of candlestick patterns and analysis, trend lines, Bollinger bands, Fibonacci, etc. Discretionary strategies can definitely work and the techniques used when using a discretionary Forex trading strategy are worth knowing about and understanding. However, more experienced Forex traders may want to branch out and only use these types of strategies when trading to form a foundation for their own trading strategies.

Forex price action trading strategies are popular too and arguably one of the better types of strategies for trading that you could go for, or at least start out with. While these types of trading strategies are simple, they can also be very effective. Forex price action trading is very flexible and adaptable; it is a dynamic type of strategy for trading that can be used to make profits regardless of the conditions of the currency markets. It is technical-based and basically involves trading the action of prices – nothing else. This is why you can apply price action trading to the currency markets in any situation at all. It is also a very clean type of trading strategy to use because it doesn’t involve the use of technical indicators at all. You can profit with a very simple price action trading setup; you don’t need much more than just your price charts and graphs. Forex price action trading strategies are also flexible, as already mentioned and they can be used alongside and combined with discretionary trading strategies for example, in order to create strong strategies for trading.

In conclusion, most if not all Forex trading strategies and systems come under the following four types: mechanical rule-based systems, robots and software, discretionary strategies and price action strategies. Every type of Forex trading strategy and system can be used to make money; different Forex traders will be better suited to different strategies and systems. If you are just starting out, you should remember to do your research, as well as test different strategies and systems. The bottom line is, everything can work; it’s more about finding what works for you.